probablyatfirst，itwillonlybeatransfertothemoftheportionofitnowexercisedbyparliament，thatistosay，arighttoproposeamendmentsandanegative。Butitmustinfalliblyendinarightoforigination。4。Perhapstheymaymakeadeclarationofrights。Itwillbeattemptedatleast。Twootherobjectswillbeattempted，viz。，ahabeascorpuslawandafreepress。Butprobablytheymaynotobtaintheseinthefirstsession，orwithmodificationsonly，andthenationmustbelefttoripenitselfmorefortheirunlimitedadoption。Uponthewhole，ithasappearedtomethatthebasisofthepresentstruggleisanilluminationofthepublicmindastotherightsofthenation，aidedbyfortunateincidents；thattheycanneverretrograde，butfromthenaturalprogressofthings，mustpressforwardtotheestablishmentofaconstitutionwhichshallassuretothemagooddegreeofliberty。TheyflatterthemselvestheyshallformabetterconstitutionthantheEnglish。Ithinkitwillbebetterinsomepoints——worseinothers。Itwillbebetterinthearticleofrepresentation，whichwillbemoreequal。Itwillbeworse，astheirsituationobligesthemtokeepupthedangerousmachineofastandingarmy。Idoubt，too，whethertheywillobtainthetrialbyjury，becausetheyarenotsensibleofitsvalue。
　　IamsureIhavebythistimeheartilytiredyouwiththislongepistle，andthatyouwillbegladtoseeitbroughttoanend，withassurancesofthesentimentsofesteemandrespectwithwhichIhavethehonortobe，dearSir，yourmostobedient，andmosthumbleservant。
　　BACON，LOCKE，ANDNEWTON
　　_ToJohnTrumbull_
　　_Paris，Feb。15，1789_
　　DEARSIR，——Ihavedulyreceivedyourfavorofthe5’th。inst。
　　Withrespecttothebusts&picturesIwillputofftillmyreturnfromAmericaallofthemexceptBacon，LockeandNewton，whosepicturesIwilltroubleyoutohavecopiedforme：andasIconsiderthemasthethreegreatestmenthathaveeverlived，withoutanyexception，andashavinglaidthefoundationofthosesuperstructureswhichhavebeenraisedinthePhysical&Moralsciences，Iwouldwishtoformthemintoaknotonthesamecanvas，thattheymaynotbeconfoundedatallwiththeherdofothergreatmen。TodothisI
　　supposeweneedonlydesirethecopyisttodrawthethreebustsinthreeovalsallcontainedinalargerovalinsomesuchformasthiseachbusttobethesizeoflife。
　　xxx。ThelargeovalwouldIsupposebeaboutbetweenfour&
　　fivefeet。Perhapsyoucansuggestabetterwayofaccomplishingmyidea。Inyourhandsbeit，aswellasthesubalternexpencesyoumention。ItroubleyouwithalettertoMrs。Church。WehavenoimportantnewsherebutoftherevolutionofGenevawhichisnotyetsufficientlyexplained。Buttheyhavecertainlyreformedtheirgovernment。IamwithgreatrespectD’r。SirYouraffectionatefriend&humbleserv’t。”NEITHERFEDERALISTNORANTIFEDERALIST”
　　_ToFrancisHopkinson_
　　_Paris，Mar。13，1789_
　　DEARSIR，——Sincemylast，whichwasofDec。21。yoursofDec。
　　9。&21。arereceived。Acceptmythanksforthepapersandpamphletswhichaccompaniedthem，andmine&mydaughter’sforthebookofsongs。Iwillnottellyouhowmuchtheyhavepleasedus，norhowwellthelastofthemmeritspraiseforit’spathos，butrelateafactonly，whichisthatwhilemyelderdaughterwasplayingitontheharpsichord，Ihappenedtolooktowardsthefire&sawtheyoungeroneallintears。Iaskedherifshewassick?Shesaid`no；butthetunewassomournful。’——TheEditoroftheEncyclopediehaspublishedsomethingastoanadvancedpriceonhisfuturevolumes，whichIunderstandalarmsthesubscribers。ItwasinapaperwhichIdonottake&thereforeIhavenotyetseenit，norcansaywhatitis——Ihopethatbythistimeyouhaveceasedtomakewryfacesaboutyourvinegar，andthatyouhavereceiveditsafe&
　　good。YousaythatIhavebeendisheduptoyouasanantifederalist，andaskmeifitbejust。Myopinionwasneverworthyenoughofnoticetomeritciting；butsinceyouaskitIwilltellityou。IamnotaFederalist，becauseIneversubmittedthewholesystemofmyopinionstothecreedofanypartyofmenwhateverinreligion，inphilosophy，inpolitics，orinanythingelsewhereI
　　wascapableofthinkingformyself。Suchanaddictionisthelastdegradationofafreeandmoralagent。IfIcouldnotgotoheavenbutwithaparty，Iwouldnotgothereatall。ThereforeIprotesttoyouIamnotofthepartyoffederalists。ButIammuchfartherfromthatoftheAntifederalists。Iapproved，fromthefirstmoment，ofthegreatmassofwhatisinthenewconstitution，theconsolidationofthegovernment，theorganizationintoExecutivelegislative&judiciary，thesubdivisionofthelegislative，thehappycompromiseofinterestsbetweenthegreat&littlestatesbythedifferentmannerofvotinginthedifferenthouses，thevotingbypersonsinsteadofstates，thequalifiednegativeonlawsgiventotheExecutivewhichhoweverIshouldhavelikedbetterifassociatedwiththejudiciaryalsoasinNewYork，andthepoweroftaxation。I
　　thoughtatfirstthatthelattermighthavebeenlimited。Alittlereflectionsoonconvincedmeitoughtnottobe。WhatIdisapprovedfromthefirstmomentalsowasthewantofabillofrightstoguardlibertyagainstthelegislativeaswellasexecutivebranchesofthegovernment，thatistosaytosecurefreedominreligion，freedomofthepress，freedomfrommonopolies，freedomfromunlawfulimprisonment，freedomfromapermanentmilitary，andatrialbyjuryinallcasesdeterminablebythelawsoftheland。IdisapprovedalsotheperpetualreeligibilityofthePresident。TothesepointsofdisapprobationIadhere。Myfirstwishwasthatthe9。firstconventionsmightaccepttheconstitution，asthemeansofsecuringtousthegreatmassofgooditcontained，andthatthe4。lastmightrejectit，asthemeansofobtainingamendments。ButIwascorrectedinthiswishthemomentIsawthemuchbetterplanofMassachusettsandwhichhadneveroccurredtome。WithrespecttothedeclarationofrightsIsupposethemajorityoftheUnitedstatesareofmyopinion：forIapprehendalltheantifederalists，andaveryrespectableproportionofthefederaliststhinkthatsuchadeclarationshouldnowbeannexed。TheenlightenedpartofEuropehavegivenusthegreatestcreditforinventingthisinstrumentofsecurityfortherightsofthepeople，andhavebeennotalittlesurprisedtoseeussosoongiveitup。Withrespecttothere-eligibilityofthepresident，Ifindmyselfdifferingfromthemajorityofmycountrymen，forIthinktherearebutthreestatesoutofthe11。whichhavedesiredanalterationofthis。Andindeed，sincethethingisestablished，Iwouldwishitnottobealteredduringthelifeofourgreatleader，whoseexecutivetalentsaresuperiortothoseIbelieveofanymanintheworld，andwhoalonebytheauthorityofhisnameandtheconfidencereposedinhisperfectintegrity，isfullyqualifiedtoputthenewgovernmentsounderwayastosecureitagainsttheeffortsofopposition。ButhavingderivedfromourerrorallthegoodtherewasinitIhopeweshallcorrectitthemomentwecannolongerhavethesamenameatthehelm。These，mydearfriend，aremysentiments，bywhichyouwillseeIwasrightinsayingIamneitherfederalistnorantifederalist；
　　thatIamofneitherparty，noryetatrimmerbetweenparties。ThesemyopinionsIwrotewithinafewhoursafterIhadreadtheconstitution，tooneortwofriendsinAmerica。Ihadnotthenreadonesinglewordprintedonthesubject。IneverhadanopinioninpoliticsorreligionwhichIwasafraidtoown。Acostivereserveonthesesubjectsmighthaveprocuredmemoreesteemfromsomepeople，butlessfrommyself。Mygreatwishistogooninastrictbutsilentperformanceofmyduty；toavoidattractingnotice&tokeepmynameoutofnewspapers，becauseIfindthepainofalittlecensure，evenwhenitisunfounded，ismoreacutethanthepleasureofmuchpraise。TheattachingcircumstanceofmypresentofficeisthatIcandoit’sdutiesunseenbythoseforwhomtheyaredone——
　　Youdidnotthink，bysoshortaphraseinyourletter，tohavedrawnonyourselfsuchanegotisticaldissertation。
　　ABILLOFRIGHTS
　　_ToJamesMadison_
　　_Paris，Mar15，1789_
　　DEARSIR，——Iwroteyoulastonthe12thofJan。sincewhichI
　　havereceivedyoursofOctob17，Dec8&12。ThatofOct。17。cametohandonlyFeb23。Howithappenedtobefourmonthsontheway，I
　　cannottell，asIneverknewbywhathanditcame。LookingovermyletterofJan12th，Iremarkanerroroftheword”probable”insteadof”improbable，”whichdoubtlesshoweveryouhadbeenabletocorrect。YourthoughtsonthesubjectoftheDeclarationofrightsintheletterofOct17。Ihaveweighedwithgreatsatisfaction。
　　Someofthemhadnotoccurredtomebefore，butwereacknolegedjustinthemomenttheywerepresentedtomymind。Intheargumentsinfavorofadeclarationofrights，youomitonewhichhasgreatweightwithme，thelegalcheckwhichitputsintothehandsofthejudiciary。Thisisabody，whichifrenderedindependent&keptstrictlytotheirowndepartmentmeritsgreatconfidencefortheirlearning&integrity。InfactwhatdegreeofconfidencewouldbetoomuchforabodycomposedofsuchmenasWythe，Blair&Pendleton?Oncharacterslikethesethe_”civiumardorpravajubentium”_wouldmakenoimpression。Iamhappytofindthatonthewholeyouareafriendtothisamendment。TheDeclarationofrightsislikeallotherhumanblessingsalloyedwithsomeinconveniences，andnotaccomplishingfullyit’sobject。Butthegoodinthisinstancevastlyoverweighstheevil。Icannotrefrainfrommakingshortanswerstotheobjectionswhichyourletterstatestohavebeenraised。1。Thattherightsinquestionarereservedbythemannerinwhichthefederalpowersaregranted。Answer。Aconstitutiveactmaycertainlybesoformedastoneednodeclarationofrights。Theactitselfhastheforceofadeclarationasfarasitgoes；andifitgoestoallmaterialpointsnothingmoreiswanting。InthedraughtofaconstitutionwhichIhadonceathoughtofproposinginVirginia，&
　　printedafterwards，Iendeavoredtoreachallthegreatobjectsofpublicliberty，anddidnotmeantoaddadeclarationofrights。
　　Probablytheobjectwasimperfectlyexecuted；butthedeficiencieswouldhavebeensuppliedbyothers，inthecourseofdiscussion。Butinaconstitutiveactwhichleavessomepreciousarticlesunnoticed，andraisesimplicationsagainstothers，adeclarationofrightsbecomesnecessarybywayofsupplement。Thisisthecaseofournewfederalconstitution。Thisinstrumentformsusintoonestateastocertainobjects，andgivesusalegislative&executivebodyfortheseobjects。Itshouldthereforeguardusagainsttheirabusesofpowerwithinthefieldsubmittedtothem。2。Apositivedeclarationofsomeessentialrightscouldnotbeobtainedintherequisitelatitude。Answer。Halfaloafisbetterthannobread。Ifwecannotsecureallourrights，letussecurewhatwecan。3。Thelimitedpowersofthefederalgovernment&jealousyofthesubordinategovernmentsaffordasecuritywhichexistsinnootherinstance。Answer。Thefirstmemberofthisseemsresolvableintothefirstobjectionbeforestated。Thejealousyofthesubordinategovernmentsisapreciousreliance。Butobservethatthosegovernmentsareonlyagents。Theymusthaveprinciplesfurnishedthemwhereontofoundtheiropposition。Thedeclarationofrightswillbethetextwherebytheywilltryalltheactsofthefederalgovernment，Inthisviewitisnecessarytothefederalgovernmentalso；asbythesametexttheymaytrytheoppositionofthesubordinategovernments。4。Experienceprovestheinefficacyofabillofrights。True。Butthoitisnotabsolutelyefficaciousunderallcircumstances，itisofgreatpotencyalways，andrarelyinefficacious。Abracethemorewilloftenkeepupthebuildingwhichwouldhavefallenwiththatbracetheless。ThereisaremarkabledifferencebetweenthecharactersoftheInconvenienceswhichattendaDeclarationofrights，&thosewhichattendthewantofit。TheinconveniencesoftheDeclarationarethatitmaycrampgovernmentinit’susefulexertions。Buttheevilofthisisshort-lived，trivial&reparable。TheinconveniencesofthewantofaDeclarationarepermanent，afflicting&irreparable。Theyareinconstantprogressionfrombadtoworse。Theexecutiveinourgovernmentsisnotthesole，itisscarcelytheprincipalobjectofmyjealousy。Thetyrannyofthelegislaturesisthemostformidabledreadatpresent，andwillbeforlongyears。Thatoftheexecutivewillcomeinit’sturn，butitwillbeataremoteperiod。Iknowtherearesomeamonguswhowouldnowestablishamonarchy。Buttheyareinconsiderableinnumberandweightofcharacter。Therisingraceareallrepublicans。Wewereeducatedinroyalism；nowonderifsomeofusretainthatidolatrystill。Ouryoungpeopleareeducatedinrepublicanism，anapostasyfromthattoroyalismisunprecedented&impossible。Iammuchpleasedwiththeprospectthatadeclarationofrightswillbeadded；andhopeitwillbedoneinthatwaywhichwillnotendangerthewholeframeofthegovernment，oranyessentialpartofit。